Glow Plug Campaign Letter

[TomB]

I just received a letter on both of my Passats for an emissions issue related to the ceramic glow plugs.

VW will pay to replace the ceramic with metal and if you have already had it done, you can seek reimbursement.

Here is the letter:

 

[telerider37]

Just received my letter in the mail today too. Any chance Volkswagon would go ahead with the BS recall, or is the cost just so much greater to replace the BS compared to the glow plugs? At least they will do the ECM reflash at the same they replace the plugs. One less thing I've got to worry about paying out of pocket...Of course the letter says nothing about a ceramic plug cracking off into the cylinder thus trashing your engine. I'm just psyched VW seems to be coming through on this issue!

 

[DickSilver]

Yep, looks like I get a refund of the steel glow plugs and ECU reflash that I had done at a decent dealership (yes, there are a few of those!) in March 2009. A small consolation in parallel with the (as yet) non-reimbursed geared BS upgrade I had done in January.

 

[Lug_Nut]

I deleted my pissy rant about yet another thread on the same subject covered previously.


http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=252214

 

[maktas]

I am waiting for the day this happens with the BS fiasco so I can stop fighting with my extended warranty crooked company for money.

 

[volkswagendude]

I too was psyched when they announced this, or should say, when I first read about it on this amazing forum

1 down, 1 more to go

I just had a strange imaginary type of vision 5 minutes ago about something that I was about to do in the near future. --I sold the car because the BS thing just scared/peeved/disgusted/ me off, and then, a short time after that, VW issued a recall on the BS, and reimbursement to ALL owners who did the gear upgrade. Then I was REEEALLLLY PISSSED OFF for having sold it!

Ok, back to reality...

 

[Smokerr]

Been there, got er done already

Damn good for those who were out of pocket and or waiting flash.

Someone need to post this on the New Item, as it applies to Jetta, Nw Beetle and Golf. I am off to bed.

Too bad the BS/OP is not emissions related!

 

[engineerorange]

Yep, looks like I get a refund of the steel glow plugs and ECU reflash that I had done at a decent dealership (yes, there are a few of those!) in March 2009. A small consolation in parallel with the (as yet) non-reimbursed geared BS upgrade I had done in January.

Could you list the name and location of this decent dealership? I will be passing through Kentucky on the way to STL for the balance shaft upgrade and would love to have a decent dealership do the work (we don't have any of those in NC).

 

[Smokerr]

Have Oilhammer do the glow plugs. Its all to easy to break them off. If so, you are stuck until they pull the head, get the remnants out and back together.

Oilhammer can disable the glow plugs until you get the re-flash done (and show you how to get them working again.

You can get reimbursed for the cost of the glow plugs themselves (not sure about labor)

 

[bigEZ]

i'm assuming the reflash is going to kill my rc 2 and 1134 tranny recode? guess i'll have to visit jeff again after i have this done

 

[volkswagendude]

i'm assuming the reflash is going to kill my rc 2 and 1134 tranny recode? guess i'll have to visit jeff again after i have this done

Yup.

I'm already contemplating my plan of action once I get the recall done.

It will be interesting to see how the car feels in unmodified form. Usually we tend to compare things as we +mod, not -mod. They say that it's when you go in the reverse order, that you truly see the difference.

 

[upsbroke]

Glow plug replacement

Took the 05 Passat in for the glow plug change. Soon after got a call about broken dipstick tube.[what a coincidence] Then later in the morning-a call about a fried ECM. Amazingly enough-apparently VW is covering the ECM!! What's next?

 

[MOGolf]

i'm assuming the reflash is going to kill my rc 2 and 1134 tranny recode? guess i'll have to visit jeff again after i have this done

The recall related reflash won't touch the tranny code, unless there's a transmission controller reflash that has not been done to your car. VW's software management system might cause that to get applied too.

A scan of control modules after the surgery may reveal a bunch of fault codes for modules complaining about not being able to talk to the ECM, or other fault (like one I see in a steering wheel control module for "Controls in steering wheel (E221) 41-10 Blocked or No Voltage - Intermittent").

If you have a tuned ECM, you might just contact the tuner about GP compatibility and install the GPs yourself, skipping the recall process (unless you want the free GPs).

 

[abctdi]

Took the 05 Passat in for the glow plug change. Soon after got a call about broken dipstick tube.[what a coincidence] Then later in the morning-a call about a fried ECM. Amazingly enough-apparently VW is covering the ECM!! What's next?

Well without an ECM, they can't meet emissions requirements can they?
I think I'll wait a few weeks, or months before doing this one.

 

[blaz]

A fried ECM happened to a guy in Ontario as well with this recall. He was told that VW Canada says it just happens occasionally, and of course they replaced the ECM.

Pretty strange piece of electronic engineering if you ask me.

 

[eyeguy]

I had mine done Wednesday, got home, hooked up the Q-Loader, &.....nothing. I can't retune my ECU now due to it seeing a difference in the software. No big deal really & I've sent Kerma an e-mail to let them know.

 

[gwp]

2004 pd

Had service done regarding glow plug recall. It seems that the wiring harness for the plugs gets brittle with age and cracked when they did the service dealer said would not be covered under recall $300 plus however after a call to VW
they will be replacing the harness This is a issue it seems and they may be handling on a one by one basis

 

[maktas]

Just got mine back from the shop, there is a distinct loss of power in the 2nd and 3rd gears, 30 to 40 MPh range now that my tuning is wiped out. Otherwise seems the same as before.

 

[volkswagendude]

Finally got my letter in the mail today...will be calling for an appointment on Monday.

 

[telerider37]

Got my recall done this morning. Two hours to complete the job, just like the letter said. I don't notice any difference, but I'm glad it's one less thing I have to do out of pocket! Now for the BS upgrade later this month with TDIJetta99. This is the reward I get for paying my beloved Passat off last month???

 

[vw4life]

Got my letter yesterday (Canada) sending my reimbursement claim tomorrow. I will try to include my rental car fee in the reimbursement.

 

[sschnath]

This is the reward I get for paying my beloved Passat off last month???

Just paid mine off at the end of June and the AC died a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunatley it's not the relay (already took care of that a few months ago). It's at an independent mechanic that does a lot of AC work. All they know is it's electrical and they haven't been able to track it down yet. The only thing the AC is cooling off now is my bank account.

 

[sschnath]

Received my glow plug recall refund today

I'll have to give VW some credit here. They were timely on the payment and actually sent me $4.60 more than I asked for (I'm sure I did the math wrong). I had wondered whether I would get the full amount requested because there was some extra labor involved - a couple of the plugs came out hard.

But it was all clearly documented on the dealer's service order and it wasn't padded as they didn't know at the time that VW would be picking up the tab, so there really wasn't anything to dispute.

Didn't get paid for the balance shaft work which was on the same service order. Apparently that's still not covered.

We need to figure out how to classify the BS as an emissions-related problem. I know - if it stops working then there are no more emissions and that's a problem!

 

[vw4life]

I'm still waiting.. VW canada is SLOW! 4 weeks now.

Got your cheque in the mail? Post here: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=255404

 

[cdavis03]

Used car

Will they do this recall on my 05 with 85,000 miles that I just bought used?

 

[volkswagendude]

Will they do this recall on my 05 with 85,000 miles that I just bought used?

Yes

 

[cdavis03]

Thanks

And Sweet!!!!

 

[2004STARWARSTDI]

Rental car

Got my letter yesterday (Canada) sending my reimbursement claim tomorrow. I will try to include my rental car fee in the reimbursement.

Rental car=Only in your dreams!

 

[leicaman]

Rental car=Only in your dreams!

Be lucky they recalled it at all.

 

[cdavis03]

Done today

Did the recall and the mechanic is a personal friend. He looked the car over and said that my purchase was a good one. Did the fuel filter, oil change, and put nitrogen in the tires. The car is much more responsive and smooth. The emission workshop light is now off. The code read before was the #4 glow plug. Perfect timing, thanks to all of you for the experience and the enthusiasm. This is a fun car.